A Dragonball Story
by The Rev
Summary: Dragonball AU centering on Goku, Choutzu, Tenshinhan, Yamucha, and Red Ribbon all finding out that the world is a lot bigger and more complicated than they thought. Quite a bit of mythology mixed in with the fic.
1. One

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball or Dragonball Z, and no one but Toei animation wants to take responsibility for Dragonball GT.  
  
  
  
A/N: This is vastly different from anything you'll find in the rest of my stories, and probably on ff.net. I was reading Choutzu's profile on DoraMouse's story, Character , and I just got this idea. Before the story even begins, I'D like to thank her, because her stories got my mind going on this idea. Take a bow, Dora!  
  
*crickets*  
  
Okay, so DoraMouse isn't actually here. I'll just start the fic.  
  
  
  
Chapter One:  
  
  
  
A huge castle loomed up in the air, taller than even the palace of the world emperor. There was a reason for this. The world emperor didn't wield as much power as the ruler in the castle, despite his title. The king in this castle, aside from being psycic and immensely strong, was descended from a long line of rulers, and his empire still covered two of the four main islands that made up most of the land mass on the planet.  
  
His name was Choutzu.  
  
On one side of the small, almost doll-like emperor's throne, stood his loyal bodyguard, advisor, and closest friend, Tenshinhan. Choutzu sometimes referred to the tri-clops simply as Tien.  
  
Right now, though, they had to be quite formal. Because the room was filled with the little emperor's most trusted officials. Generals, governors, and other advisors filled the throne room, and all were talking quite loudly. They were all talking about one of two things.  
  
One, was that the so called 'world emperor' was moving to take over their empire and really make himself the leader of the world.  
  
The other thing they spoke of, was an artifact. Or rather, seven artifacts. They were only known of in legend, but it was said that they had the power to grant any wish. They were known as dragonballs.  
  
It seemed that the only two not talking at the tops of their voices were the emperor and his bodyguard. Choutzu leaned on one arm, apparently quite bored. Tien stood as still as a stone, arms crossed, staring straight ahead with all three eyes. He cared nothing for these men or their foolish talk. He would do what the emperor wished, and let it at that. Until then, he tried to keep boredom from striking him dead.  
  
The emperor stood suddenly, his colorful robes swishing about. Silence immediately descended.  
  
"I believe we have a crsis on our hands." Choutzu said in the most formal voice he could muster. He had only just inherited the empire, and was not yet used to talking in this manner.  
  
"I would say we do!" one general yelled out. "What do we do about it?"  
  
Tenshinhan turned wrathfull eyes on the man, and he fell silent right away.  
  
"Be patient," the little emperor breathed softly, "There will be more than enough time for questions. Everyone be silent."  
  
No one spoke. For a second, there was no sound at all.  
  
Then Choutzu took a deep breath and began. "For the past few weeks, since we began to receive threats form the self styled 'world emperor', I have been studying artifacts known as dragonballs. They have the power to call forth a dragon that can grant one wish, no matter what you ask of it."  
  
There was scattered murmering, but it soon quieted and Choutzu continued.  
  
"Apparently, there are seven of these dragonballs, each with a number of stars on it, one though seven. To summon this dragon, they must all be brought together."  
  
"We don't have any exact locations, but I believe we know the approximate area where some of them may be. In the self styled world emperor's realm, there is a family by the name of Brief. Apparently, the daughter of this family has developed a device for finding these artifacts. our inside agent has given us locations to three of them. He has also given us blueprints to build a radar of our own."  
  
Choutzu paused for emphasis. Used to it or not, he was a fairly good public speaker.  
  
"It will take us a few weeks to build this radar, but we are in a great hurry. Therefore, I am sending three of the people in this room to find these artifacts. one of you for each of the ones we know the approximate location for."  
  
One of the genrals raised his hand slowly.  
  
"Yes?" Choutzu aknowleged him.  
  
"Who will be sent, your highness?"  
  
"I will inform the generals who will be sent on this mission privately. No one else will know of it. This opperation is to remain top secret. Anyone who is caught leaking information will receive.." he paused and glanced at Tien ever so slightly, "The most dire consequences."  
  
Several of the men in the room visibly shook. Every one of them had seen Tenshinhan in combat. It wasn't a pretty sight.  
  
"Alright, then." The emperor concluded. "You are all dismissed. I will send notice to those I choose to go on this mission."  
  
The men who had been talking loudly about the empire's future just a minute ago now left rather quietly. In a few seconds, the room was empty but for the emperor and his bodyguard.  
  
Choutzu sat back down heavily on the throne and heaved a deep sigh.  
  
  
  
  
  
A little boy named Goku walked alone in the woods, as he had every day since his grandfather had died. He was carrying a large log home for fire wood. A log at least five feet long, and about four wide. Such a big piece of wood would require a strong man to carry it, under normal circumstances. But young Goku was hardly normal. He carried the wood with ease, and he was just ten years old. And a bit small, at that. The only defining charictaristic about him was the tail flicking back and forth behind him, and his wild mane of hair.  
  
He reached a clearing in the trees he had been walking through, and in the clearing was a small house. Until only a few years ago, it had belonged to a legendary martial arts master named Gohan, adoptive Goku's grandfather. Now, Goku lived alone.  
  
He sat the wood down next to the house, making a mental note to chop it up later, and headed off in the opposite direction. He wanted to play. And what better way to have fun, than to explore the woods around his home?  
  
He had seen them all before, of course, but there were always more. He could go further and further, until he came to a place he had never seen. It was easy for him to find his way back. He had a wonderful sense of direction.  
  
He began to jump over logs, climb trees, and run like it was going out of style. When he played, he played at a furious pace. It was always young Goku's philosophy that when one had fun, it was best to cram as much into every minute as possible.  
  
As he ran, the small pouch on his belt slapped against his thigh. It contained a gold ball, made of some indestructible material, with four stars on it. He talked to it as he played, calling it 'grandpa'. He was sure that it contained the soul of his dead grandfather. He didn't have the slightest clue as to it's true purpous, and if he had been told, he would not have cared. At least, on his own, he wouldn't have cared.  
  
He was getting to the part of the wods he hadn't explored yet. He had been walking, climbing, and jumping for close to an hour now, further from home than he had ever been. He wasn't nervous, though.  
  
At least, he wasn't nervous until he saw a road.  
  
He stood behind a bush a few yrds away, and stared at the strip of concrete in the middle of what he had thought was endless forest. He knew right away that this wasn't alive, but he still had yet to find out if it was safe.  
  
Bravery had always been one of Goku's more prominent featurs, and caution hed never been one. He rushed forward into the road.  
  
The first thing he noticed was that it was much harder than the ground. The second was that it was covered in little yellow lines.  
  
It was quite odd, really. He assumed that other people must have built this, but what for, he couldn't guess.  
  
Now, to young Goku, 'other people' was a very vague idea. He knew his grandpa had been like him, so logically there were probably more. But it wasn't a concept he gave much thought to. He knew that the road was not natural, and it wasn't made by him. Therefore, it must have been made by someone else.  
  
That was as far as the thought went into the boy's mind. When it came to the here and now, and a situation put before him, Goku was quite sharp. But he wasn't much of a theorist. He didn't really put a lot of thought into things far away.  
  
Suddenly, just as he was about to go back into the woods and abandon the road, he heard a sound.  
  
It was like a growling, or even a roaring, from a long way off. He decided to wait and see what it was. His only mission right now was to have fun, and this could possibly turn out to be fun.  
  
There was a curve in the road, so he couldn't see what was making the noise. He stood near the curve, resolving to either be friends with whoever was making the noise, or fight them. Goku loved to fight. But the noise still sounded too quiet to be nearby, so he waited.  
  
You can imagine his surprise when a car zoomed around the corner and slammed into him head on.  
  
He flew back, but only a few feet before he could stop himself. The car, however, let out a loud screech, and stopped moving. It was letting out the low, growling noise Goku had heard.  
  
The young boy got to his feet, ready to fight.  
  
"You must be a monster, to go and hit me like that." He said. "I bet you're really strong. Let's fight!"  
  
The car made no answer. Goku assumed the monster was chicken.  
  
"Okay, I'll make the first move. Hiyah!" he cried out, and slammed a fist into the car's front, denting the metal drastically. The growl went up to a whine, and suddenly stopped.  
  
Goku stood up straight and scratched his head. "I must have killed it."  
  
Then the door opened, and a girl with bluw hair stepped out.  
  
"WOW!" Goku yelled out. "Are you a ghost!?"  
  
The girl was, apparently, quite pissed. "NO! I am Bulma Brief, and you, young man, have just wrecked my car!"  
  
Goku didn't know what to say. Finally, he asked hesitantly, "What's a Bulma Brief?"  
  
The girl threw up her hands in exhasperation. "I'm a girl!"  
  
suddenly, Goku remembered something. He really didn't know what a girl was, but his grandfather had told him that if he ever met one, he had to be nice to them. He looked at her, still suspicious.  
  
"Are you sure you're a girl?"  
  
She seemed to be enraged by this. "OF COURSE!! Haven't you ever seen a beautiful young girl before!?"  
  
He shook his head with wide eyes. "Well, not really."  
  
Bulma was apparently quite startled by this, as she fell flat on her back, with both legs sticking up in the air.  
  
Goku was still quite confused. He spoke to his pouch.  
  
"Wow, grandpa, is this a girl, really? Why do I need to be so nice to her? She looks kind of doofy."  
  
Bulma had gotten to her feet by this time. She could see that yelling would do no good, and she wasn't too upset over her car. She had a few more, after all. So, she stuffed her temper down as best as she could and asked politely,  
  
"What's in your bag?"  
  
Goku instinctively put a hand over the leather pouch. "My grandpa."  
  
Bulma looked more confused than ever. "Your grandpa?"  
  
Goku nodded, a huge smile on his face.  
  
She shook her head. "What's your name, kid?"  
  
He smiled even wider. "My name's Son Goku!"  
  
"Okay, Goku. Could I see your 'grandpa'?"  
  
His first thought was to quickly say no. He was very protective of the dragonball that he believed contained the spirit of his grandfather. But then he rmembered that Bulma was a girl, and he had to be nice to girls. He thought...  
  
After a second, he undid the strings, and handed the ball over.  
  
  
  
  
  
A white cat holding a large staff looked down from a very tall tower. A tower so tall, you could almost see the curve of the earth from it. Any normal human would have trouble breathing this high up. But Korin did not.  
  
The squint eyed feline was one of only two gods whose residence was the planet earth. The other was this earth's Kami. And Kami usually did nothing but sit in his throne. Korin liked to watch.  
  
To the gods, life was almost like a TV show. Except, they were part of it, and they could change it. And, it could change them. None of them used their god-powers very often to change the world, but once in a while it happened. Usually, though, they interacted with mortals like other mortals. Korin's senzu beans were a good example.  
  
When they interacted in this way, there were very few differebces between the gods and the mortals. Those differences were quite large, however.  
  
For one thing, most gods could see just a bit into the future. For another, most could escape if their physical well being were in danger.  
  
But Korin preferred to watch, rather than interact. He gave senzu beans, and advice, but nothing more. And years had passed since he had even given any human a bean. Perhaps even centuries. Who knew? Time meant little to him.  
  
Right now, he was quite enthralled with the hunt for the dragon balls.  
  
It had been a long time since mortals had even given thought to the magical artifacts, and few now even knew of them. But apparently someone had found out. Several someones, to be exact.  
  
Bulma Brief had been the first. She had one of them now. Well, two soon. Korin could see far enough ahead to know that Goku would team up with her, and so they would have two.  
  
Apparently, the emperor Choutzu had been next. Choutzu, now there was an enigma. Though no one knew, not even his friend Tien, the guy was part god. He was very strong, stronger than most of his bodyguards, and also more psychic than even Korin or Kami. And he now knew of the dragonballs.  
  
Korin found this all very amusing, to say the least.  
  
There were others who would enter the picture soon. A few even worked for Choutzu, and would betray him. Korin didn't know whick ones, but he had a few suspicions.  
  
That Red Ribbon Army, for instance. They were a sort of vigilante army that worked for Choutzu. But neither the emperor nor Korin trusted them much. But Choutzu's actuall imperial army wasn't very big, so he had to tolerate them.  
  
The cat/god looked on, always smiling. This was getting good. He thought suddenly, that he might get a chance to be a part of it himself, before it was all over.  
  
  
  
  
  
Choutzu had finally made his choices as to who would be looking for the dragonballs for him. In truth, he had made the choices long ago, but it had taken him this long to convince himself that they were the right ones. Some of these people... well, he didn't totally trust them. But they were the best men for the job.  
  
He would send Tien, but he needed his friend with him. His most trusted advisor and most loyal guard was not someone he just sent away.  
  
"Well, I think I have them, Tien." He said. The triclops looked over at him with interest.  
  
"Who are they?"  
  
"Well, I'm going to send Tao Pai Pai. He's a rather adept martial artist, and I think he's also quite clever."  
  
Tien nodded. "Sounds okay."  
  
Choutzu nodded his agreement. "Also, I'm sending Khayman. He's also quite a fighter, and usues his head. And," Choutzu paused, as if delivering a huge point, "He's not a member of the Red Ribbon Army."  
  
Tien nodded approvingly. "I don't trust all of them, either. Even Tao. He's an even better assassin than me. But Red Ribbon..."  
  
Choutzu smiled a bit. "The last one I'm sending is Yamucha."  
  
Tien jerked noticably. "The bandit? Are you sure?"  
  
Yamucha had been employed by the empire only a few months ago, and he was already rapidly rising in his position. He had been a desert bandit before. But Tien didn't care about that. What bugged him was that Yamucha was the only guy he knew of that even came close to his strength. Well, not really very close, but close enough.  
  
"I think he'll do okay." Choutzu said. "I know you don't like him, Tien, but he's the only other non Red Ribbon guy I could think of that's quallified for this mission."  
  
Tenshinhan shrugged, but was still clearly uneasy. "Your the emperor."  
  
Choutzu sighed and relaxed in his rather large throne. Now all he had to do, was tell the men their asignments.  
  
  
  
============================= O ============================  
  
  
  
I know there are a LOT of different things, but this is only a short chapter. The others will be longer. And this story's going to broaden out a lot as it goes on. Every character will get their piece, and then some.  
  
In the next chapter, we'll see Goku and Bulma set out together, the three men Choutzu is sending out, a few more Dragonball characters will enter the scene, and we'll find out who Choutzu's 'inside agent' is in Capsule Corp.  
  
For those of you who know a lot about Dragonball (as opposed to DBZ), please let me know how I'm doing. And everyone let me know what you think. I like to think this is an original idea.  
  
I mean it. I crave feedback, even if it's bad. So, REVIEW!!!  
  
Ja ne  
  
The Rev. 


	2. Two

Disclaimer: Dragonball and Dragonball Z are the property of.... ME!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!   
  
  
  


Chapter Two:   
  
  
  
  
  


In the middle of the ocean, just close enough so that you could barely see the mainland as a strip of fog, there was a very small island. On the island was a house. In the house, watching TV, was a very old man.   
  


Unlike usual, he was not watching aerobics. He was watching the news. It vaguely interested him, because the world emperor was giving a speech.   
  


"These two men are the most dangerous people on earth right now!" the emperor thundered. "They seek to take over. But I assure you that we will not let this happen. Right now, we are taking measures to ensure that this horrible tyrant and his chief assistant are wiped off the face of the earth!"   
  


A picture flashed on the screen. It was actual two pictures. One was of a three eyed man. The other was a small thing that looked like a doll. Apparently, this was the emperor of a huge realm, on the other side of the huge ocean. His name was Choutzu.   
  


The world emperor's face reappeared. "If these two men are sighted, or if any information id known of them, please contact your local military post. It is rumored that they may be hiding right in our midst. We will..."   
  


Roshi got up and flipped the TV off. It got so old, sometimes, listening to that. The world emperor was usually fair and just. But just lately, his advisors seemingly had persuaded him to think that the empire far east of them was a threat to their society.   
  


"What a mess." Roshi said to himself. He walked into the kitchen to make himself a snack.   
  


As he was putting several slices of ham onto two pieces of bread, he began to wonder what had become of Umigame, his turtle. The turtle had left a few hours ago to go for a swim, and had not yet come back.   
  


The old master took his sandwich into the living room and turned the television back on, this time to an aerobics program.   
  
  
  
  
  


It had taken some convincing, but Bulma had done it. Goku was riding in the passenger seat of her capsule car, the four star Dragonball still in it's pouch.   
  


At first, she had tried everything she could think of to get his Dragonball. But after only a few minutes of arguing, she saw that yelling had no effect on him whatsoever, and apparently he didn't care to see her naked. That about used up her persuasive powers.   
  


So, she had settled on the next best thing. She had convinced him to come with her on her trip to look for the Dragonballs. He had agreed to that almost right away, after she had assured him that she would wait while he ran home and got a few things.   
  


She thought she would have had to wait for an hour at least, but Goku had shown up only a few minutes later with a sort of stick slung over his back in a sheath, and a cloth bag. When the bag was opened, she saw that it contained enough food for ten people. Goku explained simply that he liked to eat.   
  


Never in her life had she seen someone eat like him, either. It had taken him about thirty minutes to finish all of the food in the large bag, and he had apparently been eating at a leisurely pace.   
  


"Uh, Bulma?" Goku said suddenly. She jerked herself up from her thoughts.   
  


"What is it, Goku?"   
  


"I was just wondering... if the Dragonballs give you a wish, what do you want to wish for?"   
  


To Goku's surprise, she began to blush madly. "Uhh... it's a secret."   
  


Goku raised one eyebrow and shrugged. He had only known her for an hour or so, and he already knew one thing. Girls were weird.   
  
  
  
  
  


Choutzu's throne room was once again occupied, but this time only by himself, Tien, and the three men he had decided on sending to look for the Dragonballs.   
  


The first, a tall, muscular youth with long black hair, was named Yamucha. He wore the same kind of clothes as when he had been a bandit: a fighting gi with an orange jacket and green pants. Floating nearby, sometimes talking to him, sometimes just being still, was his pet cat, Puar.   
  


The second man was the smallest of the three. He had neatly trimmed, short, black hair, combed back over his head. He was dressed in a simple dark brown gi that resembled a robe with legs. His name was Khaymen.   
  


The last was a tall, proud looking man. He wore a jacket with a floral pattern, and black pants. His hair was pulled into a braid that hung over his shoulder. A thin mustache covered his upper lip. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He had the air of a man who is very powerful, in rank and strength, and knew it. He was Tao Pai Pai.   
  


Choutzu's empire was riddled with treason and traitors. A perfect example were the three men in this room. Of all of them, Khaymen was the only one who intended to bring a Dragonball back to Choutzu, and that was because, though powerful and loyal, he was utterly mindless. He only did what his emperor ordered.   
  


Yamucha had his own reasons for wanting the Dragonballs. He wanted one wish, and then, he would be done with life as a bandit or in the army. He only wanted a wife, so that he could settle down.   
  


Tao Pai Pai, of course, worked for Dr. Gero and the Red Ribbon Army. His goal was to bring the balls back to help Red Ribbon control the world.   
  


Choutzu was a psychic, so he could read the three men's minds. Or at least Tao and Khaymen. But Yamucha seemed to guard his thoughts. As a result, the psychic emperor could not tell his intentions very well. But he now was sure that Tao Pai Pai would betray him.   
  


This wasn't good. He had never fully trusted the Red Ribbon Army, but he didn't think that they were really dangerous to his empire. Now that he took the time to read Tao's mind thoroughly, however, he was getting very nervous. His own army was rather small, the reason being that most of the population were peaceful. He had needed the Red Ribbon Army to fight for him. He had gotten so used to having the powerful organization at his beck and call that he had gotten a bit to at ease. And now they planned this...   
  


It seemed that they planned to overthrow his rule, and then conquer the 'world emperor' (whose army was actually quite large) as well, all with the power of the Dragonballs. And it was to be Tao Pai Pai that would start it all, by delivering the ball he found to the Red Ribbon Army, not to Choutzu.   
  


*Tien.* he said telepathically, hoping that Tao was not capable of telepathy. *I believe we may have a problem.*   
  


*What is it?* Tien said back. *Is something wrong?*   
  


*Oh, yes. Very wrong.* he said, quickly informing Tenshinhan in the telepathic way, which is mostly through feelings, of what he had discovered in Tao Pai Pai's mind.   
  


*You're kidding!* Tien seemed to scream into the emperor's head. He knew how bad this could be as well as Choutzu did. This could cost them their lives.   
  


It was even worse than it seemed at first. Because Tao Pai Pai's brother was the Crane Master, both Tien and Choutzu's former sensei, and the only person in the empire who was more powerful psychically than Choutzu himself. If it came down to a real fight, the Crane Master could simply use a few of his most powerful psychic attacks, some so powerful that not even Choutzu could stop them.   
  


*What are we going to do?* Choutzu almost cried mentally. It was like being in a trap. If he confronted Tao, the general would deny it, and then the whole Red Ribbon Army would be ready to overthrow him by the next day. If he said nothing, it would only prolong the inevitable.   
  


*I think there may be only one answer.* Tien said after a slight pause. *And you know what it is as well as I do.*   
  


But he never got a chance to tell the emperor his solution, because that was when Tao sprang his trap.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Korin's face held an expression that it very seldom did. Worry. And for a mortal, no less.   
  


He and Kami cared for mortals, of course. But seldom did they express worry for them. It was all like a game to them, watching the people below have their fun. Actually, it was more like a play than a game. Korin thought a play-write of the human race had said it best long ago. He never could remember the exact words, but it was something to the effect that all people were merely actors, and the world was their stage.   
  


Strictly speaking, it wasn't really a mortal he was so worried about. It was Choutzu, the emperor who was descended, though long ago, from a god. He was in quite a bit of danger.   
  


Of course Korin had known that the Red Ribbon Army was going to turn on him soon, but he had not expected this sudden turn of events. It seemed that something had boosted Dr. Gero's confidence enough to attack right away. He didn't know what it was.   
  


He could feel the anxiety of Kami far above him. It seemed that even the god of earth had noticed the strangeness of this as well.   
  


It was very unnerving. But he supposed he could wait to see how things played out before he got too worried.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Just as Tien was telling Choutzu his plan, Tao Pai Pai sprang his trap.   
  


He didn't move, or say a word, but told his brother, the Crane Master, that it was time.   
  


Before the emperor could even blink at the sudden telepathy coming from a non psychic, the huge carven doors of the throne room burst open, and more soldiers than they could count began to rush in.   
  


At first, the foolishness of this nearly made Choutzu and Tenshinhan laugh out loud. They could kill these soldiers and get away easily; because they were soldiers, not martial artists or psychics. But then, they saw the problem.   
  


Striding in behind the soldiers were several other men, these much more formidable opponents.   
  


The first they could see was advisor Black, a tall, dark skinned man that worked in the top ranks of the Red Ribbon Army. The second was Gero himself, not very powerful, but carrying a huge laser gun, one of the newer models. The intensity of those things could melt steel.   
  


The third and last was the Crane Master. An older man, wearing ceremonial robes and dark glasses. He looked harmless. But he was the most dangerous one in the room.   
  


With those three and Tao Pai Pai, the chances of escape seemed to be quite limited.   
  


There were five men on Tien immediately, although he didn't even move. One's arms were around his neck, and there were two for each arm. Choutzu did nothing. He only stood there, looking very sad.   
  


"Hello." Gero said in a hatefully happy voice. "I believe we've met, haven't we? Ah yes, you're the former emperor!" he laughed in Choutzu's face.   
  


Choutzu could care less what Gero said about him. The man was a lunatic. But he felt betrayed by the Crane Master. There had been no quarrel between them.   
  


The little emperor tried to step toward the man, but as soon as he moved, he felt the immense psychic power of the Crane Master hold him in his place.   
  


"Why are you doing this!?" he screamed at them in fury. "Why do you have to destroy my empire!?"   
  


Gero said nothing, the Crane Master said nothing, only offered a hate filled smile. Advisor Black and Tao Pai Pai laughed.   
  


"Why?" Tao said mockingly. "Why? Because, we will rule the world. And you are merely the first to fall. Don't feel to bad about it. Nothing personal."   
  


Just then, someone slammed into the general, knocking him sideways into a wall. It was Khaymen, the only loyal soldier. Tao quickly countered and slammed a hand into the man's temple, killing him in a fraction of a second. But the second was long enough. The commotion had broken the Crane Master's concentration.   
  


Choutzu felt the hold weaken a bit, just enough for him to move, though it took a great deal of effort. He didn't have time to form an energy blast, but he did have time for a wind blast. He quickly grit his teeth, and used every second he could. Then he thrust his hand forward, sending a huge force out, knocking every soldier in his path out of the way.   
  


He tied to run right away, but that wind blast was one of his most powerful attacks. He was moving to slowly.   
  


Tien had begun to fight, and was tossing soldiers aside like a farmer tosses hay with a pitchfork. It was quite a startling sight, but the room was stiff with Red Ribbon soldiers, and he was fighting for every inch he had.   
  


The Crane Master was trying to put the psychic hold back on Choutzu, and the emperor fought back as hard as he could. The show of force seemed to startle the old martial artist, who backed off for a second. Choutzu, now recovered from the drain of his energy attack, threw off his bulky robe and ran for the door.   
  


Gero stopped him only feet from escape. Choutzu had almost made it, when a laser blast shot right in front of him. If he hadn't stopped, the blast would have killed him.   
  


He turned slowly, ans saw the demented doctor with a smile on his face, holding the laser cannon only feet away. Choutzu gulped, and put his hands up, hoping that he could live for a few more seconds, and perhaps find a way to escape.   
  


Gero wasn't going to let this happen, however. He put the gun right next to Choutzu's head, and prepared to fire.   
  


Choutzu closed his eyes. Gero thought he was only shutting out the end. That is, until his heart suddenly ruptured in his chest. With a gurgling scream, he fell to the ground.   
  


Tien had finally broken free of the soldiers, but was now fighting with Tao Pai Pai. He was winning, but barely. Tao was probably one of the best martial artists in the world. On the other side of the room, Yamucha had just KO'd Advisor Black.   
  


Choutzu looked down at Gero with sorrow in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I hate to use that attack, but you didn't give me a choice." he said, and reached down, closing the doctor's eyes.   
  


Then he ran for the door. He tried to telepathically tell Tien to do the same, but the fight with Tao was so intense, he couldn't get through.   
  


He thought that he should go back to help, but there was no need. Yamucha had beaten him to it. Even in the heat of the moment, it was clear that Tien didn't want help, but Yamucha was giving it anyway. In a flash, they had knocked the general off his feet.   
  


*RUN!!* Choutzu screamed telepathically, and though it irked him, Tien did it. Yamucha followed him.   
  


Soon, they were out of the palace, and into the woods that surrounded it.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Korin let out a huge sigh of relief. That had been a close one. Even he had been unsure of the outcome. But it had been alright in the end.   
  


It was still uncertain, but he had a good feeling that eventually, they might come across a couple more people who were wandering in the woods. Namely, a kid with a tail, and a girl with blue hair.   
  


The smile that was always on his face broadened. It seemed things were going just as they should.   
  
  
  


============================== O ==============================   
  


A little short, but hey, they seem to write themselves sometimes. Once again, everyone read and review.   
  


Ja ne   
  


The Rev. 

  
  



	3. Three

Disclaimer: I own Dragonball. Don't let that Akira guy tell you different. It's mine, all mine!!   


Chapter Three:   
  
  


Long ago, in the woods that would surround Choutzu's palace centuries later, a god named Hotei was walking through the trees, singing to himself in his loud, happy voice. He wore only loose fitting pants and a silk robe, which was open in front, showing his large gut. He looked for all the world like the most happy man alive. 

He was jumping over streams, walking through the grass, running through the trees, and generally playing around. He was one of the seven gods of luck. His realm, specifically, was prosperity. He helped humans become successful. But being a luck god, he could dabble in the realms of the others as well, as long as he brought good luck to whomever he was helping at the moment. He was always helping someone. He loved it. 

Suddenly, as he had just come upon a small stream, he heard the cry of a child. 

Of course he stopped right away. There were no villages around here, so he could only assume that the child had been abandoned by a mother who did not want it. The thought brought sadness to his kind heart. As many times as it happened, as many times as he saw it, he would never understand why so many mothers abandoned their little children. Why, who would not want a little baby, no matter how expensive the food for one extra mouth was? 

He began to look around the underbrush, now and then pushing aside branches or fallen leaves with the large wooden staff at his side. And soon, under a large bush, he found the child. 

It was only a little boy, no more than a week old, and it certainly had not been here for long. It still looked healthy. When Hotei leaned his old, ugly, kindly face over the baby and smiled, the cries stopped, and then turned to laughter. 

"Now, now, my little one." he said, and scooped up the little child, "I know the place for you. I feel that you are a special one. You will do wonders for the people." he didn't know how he knew this. He just did. 

Close by, in this forest where wonders still happened, and few mortals would step, there were a few gods who still lived in isolation, not desiring to live in the heavens, as most other gods had done. 

"I will take you there. You will be fed, and cared for as only the gods can do, my child." then he laughed, and ran off into the....   
  
  
  
  


"Trees..." Choutzu said dreamily. Suddenly he jerked his head up. He had been dreaming while he ran. As soon as he had stepped into this forest, he had felt his body sort of slip... he had been much more tired than he should have been. The feeling was gone now, replaced by wonder that he had been sleeping and running at the same time, and more wonder that he had not fallen. 

"Tien, how long have we been running?" he asked now, really wanting to know how long he had been in that trance like state. It had felt like hours. 

But Tien looked at him with confusion. "We've only just started running. About a minute and a half." 

Choutzu shook his head rapidly to clear it. This was getting weirder and weirder. 

He decided to take his attention away from the strange dream and looked over at the other who had escaped. It was Yamucha, of course. Every now and then, Tien would look at him crossly. The flying cat that he had conversed with in the throne room now zoomed along beside him at speeds that Choutzu had not thought a small creature could even reach. It was strange. Tien could get airborne for a few seconds, and Choutzu could float using telekinesis, but he had yet to meet someone who could really fly like that. Then he noticed why. Somehow the cat had grown wings. 

"Do you think..... we've run far enough?" Yamucha panted. He was starting to get tired. Tien noticed this, and it brought a small smile to his lips. At least the desert bandit had tired first. He wasn't even feeling winded yet. And apparently, neither was Choutzu. The emperor was looking at Yamucha with raised eyebrows, as if questioning how someone could be a warrior, but tire so easily. 

They all stopped, without a word. Once they weren't running anymore, the other two could see why Yamucha was having trouble. Apparently, advisor Black had used some kind of knife on him. There was a cut across his ribs on the left side. His shirt was already soaked through, and blood was beginning to drip off of it. 

"That looks bad." Tien said, a note of pity in his voice. He didn't like Yamucha, but he did believe in returning favors. "Let me get a look at it." 

At first the desert bandit looked hesitant, but then he shrugged and began to peel back the blood soaked cloth. 

Tien drew in breath sharply when he saw the wound. It wasn't a cut, it was a stab, and quite deep. As he wiped away a bit of the blood, he could just see that it had missed the lung by about an inch. 

"You're lucky to be alive." Tien said mildly, and pulled a couple herbs out of his pocket. As a bodyguard for the emperor, he always kept a few of these around. You never knew when you could get hurt in an unexpected fight.   


"He had a punching dagger. You know, the kind that you hold the handle in a fist, and the blade comes between your fingers." he looked down at the heavily bleeding wound and grimaced. "He got me once. I guess I'm sort of lucky." 

Tien apparently didn't think so. "The bleeding's starting to slow, now that we're not running, but if we don't get some sort of bandage on this soon, you could bleed to death." 

He glanced around, but there was nothing. His own shirt had bee ripped to shreds during the battle with Tao, and what was left of Yamucha's was soaked. 

"Here." Choutzu said, yanking off his small green gi top, toppling the combination hat/crown that he wore in court from his head. He handed the light jacket to Tien, who began to tear it into strips. He glanced down at the crown thing, but he let it lie. It didn't look like he would need it anymore. 

Tien was trying to get the strips of bandage to stick with some water in a small brook that ran almost at their feet. He was doing quite well, actually. He tied one strip all the way around Yamucha's waist, and that held it in place. He mixed a bit of the herb with some water, and made a kind of paste, which he began to put on the underside of the bandage. Yamucha looked like he was in quite a bit of pain, but said nothing. Puar, the cat, floated at his side. 

A cold wind blew by, and Choutzu rubbed his well muscled but starkly white arms, hoping to keep warm. It was going to get cold later. For something to do, he began to glance about in the trees. 

He was looking at a squirrel sitting on a branch when he saw a face. 

For a flash, only an instant, and then it was gone. But there had been no question about it. After the shock earlier, he would have recognized that ugly, yet kindly smiling face anywhere. 

It was Hotei, the god of luck from his dream.   
  
  
  
  
The palace was in turmoil. Advisor Black, the Crane Master, and Tao Pai Pai had lived through the ordeal, but Dr. Gero was dead. His heart had been completely ruptured, and there was no way to bring him back.

All over the room, there were bodies. Tien and Yamucha had managed to kill quite a few soldiers, and knock more unconscious.

It seemed that everyone in the palace was in a panic except fot the three aforementioned martial artists. They stood around Gero and looked down at him.

The doctor was dead. Without him, they could not complete their plan of world domination. If he was gone, who would command the army?

"I believe we are in a bit of a predicament." Tao said with a grimace. "Yes, we definately are."

Black showed no emotion whatsoever. He was more of a soldier than a martial arts master, and it was obvious. He behaved as any soldier was taught. He showed nothing. He even fought in a cold, detached manner.

The Crane Master looked angry, but it wasn't because Gero was dead. He was more angry with himself. He could not understand why he had bothered to teach Choutzu those psychic attacks. If the emperor had not known how to use the attack that had ruptured Gero's heart, he and Tenshinhan would be their prisoners right now.

But none of them could come to a conclusion about who would run the army. The predictable thing that would happen in a situation like this was that all three would have fought for the position of power. But just the opposite was most likely to take place. 

Because none of them wanted to be in charge. Things had run just fine with Gero at the helm. He alone had known the full details of his plans, so he alone knew how to execute them. If he was gone, what would happen? 

None of them knew.

============================== O ===========================

Nothing much to say this time. Hotei is really a Chinese god of luck. Thought someone might be interested.

Ja ne

The Rev.


	4. Four

  
  
  
  


Chapter Four:   
  
  
  


It was getting dark. And Goku was getting worried.   
  


"Hey, Miss Bulmabrief?"   
  


She sighed and turned toward the kid. "Bulma. My name is Bulma."   
  


"Oh, okay. Miss Bulma, will we be stopping soon?"   
  


She sighed. Goku was not the most patient kid around. Now very quiet either. He had asked if they were stopping soon three times in the past five minutes, and he had been talking most of the day, mostly about his life in the woods. Stuff Bulma had little interest in.   
  


"Soon, Goku. As soon as it gets dark."   
  


Goku shook his head violently back and forth. "We have to be inside before that!" he said in a worried voice. "The monster that killed my grandpa comes out of the moon at night!"   
  


He had said this a few times as well. Bulma was getting pretty tired of listening to him, so she stopped the car right in that spot.   
  


"We'll stop here. Is that better?" she asked in an irritated voice.   
  


Goku nodded with a huge smile and jumped out of the car. The smile faded into a look of confusion as he looked around.   
  


"Hey, Miss Bulmabrief?"   
  


Bulma let out a sigh that was closer to a growl. "Yes?"   
  


"Where are we gonna sleep? I don't see a house." he put his hand above his eyes and gazed off into the grassy field next to the road.   
  


Bulma pulled a capsule out of her pocket and threw it into the field. "Here we go. One house."   
  


There was a pop, a cloud of smoke, and then where there had been nothing before there was now a house.   
  


Goku's eyes grew wide and his mouth hung open. "WOW! You made a house out of thin air! Are you magic, Bulma?"   
  


Bulma smiled at Goku's admiration and at the fact that he had remembered her name. "No, it's a capsule, silly. You just press the button on the top, and whatever's inside comes out!"   
  


Goku raised one eyebrow and scratched his head. "You can fit a house into that little thing?"   
  


Bulma nodded, still smiling. "My dad invented it. He owns capsule corporation."   
  


"Oh." Goku said. He didn't ask what capsule corp. was. He didn't appear to even notice. "Is there food in the house?"   
  


Bulma nodded.   
  


And then was knocked over as Goku bowled over her to get inside.   
  


She picked herself up. "Why that rude little..."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Walking. It felt like that was all they had been doing for their whole lives. Just walking. But they were still in these woods, and if they didn't get out soon, they could be found by the soldiers of Red Ribbon that were certainly out to look for them.   
  


"Kami, I'm tired." Yamucha sighed. "We've been moving for almost fourteen hours now."   
  


Tien said nothing. He seemed to be completely ignoring the bandit, as he had been for the whole time they had been together since he had helped bandage the guy. The fact that he had probably saved Yamucha's life didn't really occur to them.   
  


"We'll have to stop soon, or we won't be able to fight if someone sees us. We'll be too tired." Choutzu said. He hated to fight, but sometimes it was something you had to do, and if you had to do it, it was best to do it well.   
  


"The desert where I used to live should be fairly close, to the east." Yamucha said. "If we go there, I know some people that would help us."   
  


"Too open." Tien said shortly. "If we get caught in the desert, we can't escape."   
  


Yamucha immediately took the defensive. "We could hide. I know all kinds of places."   
  


"I'm sure you do." Tien said flatly, staring around them, looking for a hidden spot. "But right now we're not in the position of being able to even put ourselves at risk of discovery. We won in that fight against Tao Pai Pai because we were lucky, and that's it. If he chose to he could probably kill us both." Tien now turned and eyed Yamucha. "Believe me, I hate to admit that. But if Red Ribbon were to get any kind of clue as to where Choutzu and I are, not to mention you, we're as good as dead."   
  


Yamucha opened his mouth to protest again, but then closed it. He sighed. "Do what you want. I'm going home."   
  


Before either had said a thing, or were even able to, Yamucha had turned and walked off through the trees, leaving them both completely flabbergasted.   
  


"We can't let him just leave." Tien said suddenly. "That doubles the risk of being caught. If Red Ribbon finds him, he's sure to talk after only a couple days of torture."   
  


Choutzu didn't say anything, and Tien had always figured that silence gave consent. So he walked off into the trees quietly after Yamucha.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Tien had hardly cleared the first few yards of brush when another waking dream suddenly hit Choutzu.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


He was in a village, and it appeared that a very long amount of time had passed between his first vision and this one. Everywhere now there were people, not gods, as he somehow knew there had once been. Now the only god who even visited here from time to time was Hotei, the god of luck who had been in the first vision.   
  


The dream was almost not even a dream. It was like virtual reality, and Choutzu found that he could walk around, and that no one appeared to see him. Glancing upward, he saw a signpost above him. He had started right below it, and had only moved a couple of feet. It read:   
  


Penguin Village.   
  


He had heard that name before, he was sure of it. But where? Most likely it was part of his empire and he had only heard the name in passing, but still...   
  


He lost his train of thought all at once as a huge commotion went up in a far corner of the village, at the road. He immediately ran that way, hoping to see what was going on. He elbowed past people easily enough, and their reactions were enough to convince him that he really couldn't be seen.   
  


He was in his own body, at least he knew that, and so he was far too short to see over the heads of the crowd. He called on his psychic powers, and in a second, he was hovering about ten feet up, high enough to have a perfect view of the road.   
  


And as soon as he saw what was on the road, his concentration broke and he plummeted to the earth.   
  


He had gotten only a glimpse, but that was enough. He had seen. Apparently this was some sort of farewell celebration, and he had clearly seen the two people on the road that were walking out of town. They were a man and a woman, short, white skinned, with red cheeks.   
  


Just like him.   
  


He picked himself up and dusted his clothes, and then noticed someone standing next to him, looking down at him kindly. For the first time he wasn't surprised at all. Easily recognizable with his huge girth, kindly face, and open baggy robe was Hotei.   
  


"Hello, my little friend." he said in a good-natured tone. "I see you don't understand a lot of these things. But it will all come in time, my little friend. You are all pieces, you see. The man of Heaven who goes with you, and the Thief from the desert, and a little boy who even now is on his own quest. Pieces you all are."   
  


"Pieces?" Choutzu asked. "What do you mean, pieces? And what are these dreams?"   
  
  
  


Hotei laughed a deep, happy laugh. "You will find out in time. I tell you alone because only you have the power to see the old gods. You have that special mind gift..." he seemed to hunt for words. "The people now name it psychic power. The others cannot see me or receive my signals."   
  


"But... what does all this mean? Can't you tell me? Why don't the other old gods help?" Choutzu asked randomly, trying to get as much out as he could.   
  


Hotei looked sad. "Asleep. All the other old gods. They sleep, and pass their realms on to others, other young ones to keep. They no longer care for the people."   
  


Choutzu didn't know what to make of this, and stored it in his mind to think of later. "But what is all this? What did you mean by pieces? Like a game?"   
  


"Oh, no, my friend. Nothing so fixed as that." Hotei said, his smile back. "More like a puzzle, you see? A puzzle, and I only want to help the people. You have to come together to make a whole. Something is happening, greater than the design of all the old gods!" he threw his arms into the air. "You, my little friend, are but one part. A big part, though not as big as the boy who comes ever closer, but bigger than many others who will play their role, and far bigger than most of the people."   
  


Choutzu shook his head quickly back and forth. "But what do you mean, something is happening? Explain it, please!"   
  


Hotei's smile faltered and he shook his head in the negative. "My time for now is up, little friend. In time, you will understand."   
  


And before Choutzu could protest or ask one last time, the vision had winked out, and he was standing, listening to Tien push through the trees. The whole vision, it seemed, had taken less than a second.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Tien saw Yamucha the second he got through the line of trees, and grabbed him smartly by the wrist.   
  


"Sorry, but I can't let you leave." he said. Though he sounded not sorry in the least. "We have to stay together while our position is this dangerous."   
  


Yamucha yanked his hand away. "You can't stop me." he said simply.   
  
  
  


Tien nodded. "But I can. That's just it."   
  


Slowly, both warriors crouched into stance, staring the other down. A fight was about to happen.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Honestly, Kami, I think the old guy's gone cracked!" Korin said, using his not small bit of psychic power to carry his voice to the sanctuary of heaven. "What can he possible hope to accomplish by getting the kid all worked up like this?"   
  


Kami's mental sigh came down into Korin's mind.   
  


Look, I know you've been here longer than me, the old namek said. But Hotei has been here since the beginning! We aren't in any position to tell him how to handle his own realm.   
  


"But that's just it!" Korin said. "If he had asked one of us to do the talking, it would be a little different, but I hardly see how all this has anything to do with luck!"   
  


Kami mentally sighed once again, deeper this time. Again, he's far senior to us both, and the realm of Luck can be interpreted in many ways. Who are we to judge?   
  


"Well, you're Kami, aren't you?" Korin said impatiently. "You have rule of this planet, unless an appeal is made to Kaio-sama or Kaio-shin, he can't do anything you say he can't."   
  


He overrules them both when it comes to cases like this, and you know that. Why don't we just let matters play out a little?   
  


Now it was Korin's turn to sigh as he broke the telepathic link. It wasn't the actions of the ancient god that bugged him, or the intentions. But the fact that Hotei had simply begun to interfere with fate before discussing it with one of the planets two resident gods first made him very uneasy and temperamental. Because something like this probably meant that a few very important events would soon take place. Whether the outcome would be god or bad remained to be seen.   
  


========================= O ========================   
  


Again, in case anyone is interested, Tien is literally Chinese for 'heaven'. The connection will be explained later on.   
  


Ja ne   
  


The Rev. 


	5. Five

Chapter Five:

After a very eventful night, which had included Goku catching a wolf for dinner and walking in on Bulma in the bath (which he still failed to see was indecent), the mismatched pair were on the road again, this time on the back of a motorcycle.

Goku was being uncharacteristically quiet, most likely still trying to decide for himself what the motorcycle was and how it worked and if it was alive. Bulma didn't mind at all. In fact, after the boy's nearly endless chatter of the day before, she found silence welcome. 

Goku, however, couldn't be quiet forever. If he tried, he was afraid his head might explode, or something. But soon he had a reason to talk, when he saw what looked like a huge rock in the middle of the road blocking their bath.

"Hey, Miss Bulmabrief, you'd better stop." He said, tapping her on the shoulder. "You're gonna hit that rock."

Bulma sighed. She had hoped the silence would go on a bit longer, but apparently not. She did, however, stop the cycle next to the rather large stone and got a good look at it.

Then she screamed when a head popped out.

"AAH!!!" the turtle jumped into the air, a feat that was hard for a turtle at the best of times, and it's head shot back into it's shell, along with the flippers that had popped out when it leapt up.

Goku jumped off the cycle, despite Bulma's continued shrieks. He walked gingerly over and tapped lightly on the turtle's shell with one finger. "Hello? Mister Turtle? Could you come out? I'm really sorry we scared you."

"What are you doing!!" Bulma screamed. "Let that gross, slimy reptile stay in it's shell and let's go!"

The turtle's head poked out very slightly. "Could you please make her stop shouting?" it asked in a low, polite voice. "I have very sensitive ears."

"Uh, Miss Bulmabrief? Could you please be quiet for a minute?" 

"Oooohh…" Bulma trailed off into a small trail of curses, but she did stop yelling.

"Are you in trouble, Mr. Turtle? Can we help you?" Goku asked as the turtle popped the rest of the way out of it's shell. 

"Well, I'm lost." The turtle said. "I went for a swim and came all the way to the mainland, and now I can't find my way back to the sea. Do you happen to know which direction the sea is in, young man?"

Goku turned to Bulma. "I don't know. Hey, Bulma? Do you know the way to get to the sea?"

"Of course I know how to get to the sea." Bulma said matter-of-factly. "But there's no way I'm taking a slimy lizard on _my _motorcycle."

Goku smiled. "Oh, don't worry, I'll carry him! I don't mind."

"Oh, would you?" the turtle looked, well, as happy as a turtle can look. "I would be so grateful."

"No problem." The boy laughed. He easily picked the turtle up and let it climb to his back. "Yeah, you're not very heavy."

Bulma sighed and threw her hands in the air. "I give up. Come on, let's go."

She revved the engine and took off. Goku smiled wide, and with Umigame's startled cries, bolted after the bike, somehow catching up and keeping perfect pace with it.

Being psychic was sometimes a royal pain, and so a lot of the time Choutzu blocked the brief visions that would visit him. That meant that for one to get through, it had to be especially powerful, like Hotei's visions, to get through.

Now he was standing in the middle of a forest, waiting for Tien and Yamucha to start duking it out, and trying to understand what this last one had meant. Was this a flash of the future? The past? Or was the strange looking ancient god simply sending him a setting to go with the message.

Psychic visions could be very confusing. 

Suddenly a huge explosion rocked the landscape, shaking the very earth he stood on. It was over in a second, but he had actually been tossed to the ground.

There was only one technique he knew of that could produce effects like that.

Kaiko-ho.

"Tien!" he yelled, and took off into the trees.

Yamucha clenched his fists, looking at Tien with distaste bordering on outright dislike. Who was this guy, who assumed he could just tell him what to do and when to do it? Well, he wasn't about to just let Tenshinhan walk all over him.

"All right, if that's the way you want to play, I'll show you how to do it." The bandit snarled. "Wolf Fang Fist!!"

Before Tien saw what was happening, Yamucha was on him, moving in a blur that the tri-clops could hardly see, let alone dodge. He jumped out of the way of the first couple punches, but the third was too fast, and clipped his jaw. This caused him to pause for a second, and a kick landed in his midsection, sending him back and down to the ground. When he fell, Yamucha stopped, sinking to one knee, panting for breath.

Tien, however, was not that easily winded. He stood only a fraction of a second after falling, and rose his ki slightly.

"Okay, that was yours. Here's mine." He brought his hands up in front of him, like he was praying, and then opened them into a triangle shape.

"Kai-ko-ho!!" 

Yamucha's eyes went wide, and somehow he jumped, just in time. The blast tore out of Tien's hands and through the trees, shaking the earth and carving a wide alley in the forest. For a brief second, everything went blue and white.

It stopped, and as it did, Choutzu came tearing through the trees. "Tien, stop!!"

The tri-clops paused and looked over at the now former emperor, breathing heavily. "What? Why!?"

"If Red Ribbon has helicopters, or planes, they'll see your blast!" Choutzu said, not adding that he also didn't want Yamucha killed. If Choutzu had asked, Tien would have let the bandit go, but that wasn't something the emperor was prepared to do.

Tien's eyes widened, then he slapped a hand to his forehead. "What a fool I am! Come on." He gestured to Yamucha. "We have to get away from this place, right now."

The bandit said nothing, only crossed his arms and shook his head. 

Whether he thought Tien would relent and let him leave, or expected to be in another fight, who can say? But the tri-clops had less patience then he thought, and the last thing he saw before everything went black was a fist, faster than he could clearly see, belting him across the face.

Gero's body was in a huge freezer. Outside, Tao Pai Pai and the crane master were standing, not saying anything, just staring into each other's eyes, thoughts flickering from mind to mind. 

Red Ribbon's technology was eons beyond anything the rest of the world possessed. One of the things they could do that no one else had figured out yet was artificial intelligence. They could create robots that could think, androids.

But trying to turn a human body into a cyborg was something else altogether, and much more complicated. Instead of creating everything from mechanical parts, now the body's natural systems were enhanced, and trying to make two completely different systems work in tandem was much harder than creating one.

Still, the genius of Dr. Gero was something far too important to lose, so they meant to try. Construction of a perfect android body had already begun under the supervision of the soldier/scientist, advisor Black. 

So, perhaps there was hope for Red Ribbon's plans of world domination, after all.

AN: I know I said that Earth: Occupied was getting finished next, but this fic needs attention too. And, Crash, it's definitely nothing strange to care about Goku and Bulma the least. Hell, I cared about their part the least, and your review made me realize that that was probably why it was less interesting. So, I figure it's time I start having them _do _something. 


End file.
